Medical Foster care???

[sup3rmom2logan]

Hey guys!
I love coming and reading your stories. I pray for each of you and hold my breath for positive updates. My husband and I will be working on licensing this year for foster care, and really would like to do medical needs care. BUT will that mean we will never get a newborn??? Do drug babies go to "regular" foster homes or medical needs homes? We would love to adopt down the road!!

[WynneBabies]

We don't really have a separate medical needs program in my county. We said we were open to mild special needs. Almost two years ago, we got a call for 25 weeker who had a shunt in her brain and was on oxygen. We said yes (dh is a RN) but we ended up not getting her since she was able to go home with mom after all. In a neighboring county, we have family friends who have done severe medical needs kids for many years. Most they got straight from the hospital (maybe not newborns anymore since they had been hospitalized so long). Their current "baby" was released from the hospital after a couple months and is still with then two years later. They'd be adopting her if they weren't in their 70s. Drug addicted newborns are not considered special needs here. They go to regular foster homes. Sometimes these babies have other special needs due to the drugs though and then you'll find sometimes they'll request a medical home.

[sup3rmom2logan]

Okay- I see. I am an emergency room RN, and want to stay home and do special needs foster care. I great friend of mine ran a special needs group home for years until she "retired" from that to work in Tallahassee in hopes of changing laws for these children. She will be helping us get licensed when we close on our house this year. We are going to get licensed through Medicaid as a provider for high medical needs. But oh man do a long for a little baby

[WynneBabies]

If you're in an urban area, most likely they have a great need for specialized medical homes. There should be plenty of babies that are being released with medical equipment such as feeding tubes, oxygen, etc, that would qualify. Where I don't recommend foster care be your "job", your stipend rate for medically fragile kids is pretty high and you often get nursing case also. I do understand if people need that money in order to stay home and do that. I've never heard of being licensed through Medicaid. Here if you want to be any kind of an actual foster parent, you need to be licensed through as agency or your county.

[sup3rmom2logan]

No, here you have to go through an agency as well BUT you can be licensed as a medicaid provider for home health. There are like 2 homes in our city that do tube feedings, and preemies. Our county covers over a 100 miles- it's sad. The government is coming down on Florida for the poor placements of special needs foster children. Many are in "nursing" homes with very little interaction. I remember reading an article about a 12 yr old in a long term nursing facility that had 2 visits from case worker in 6 months. We have BIG plans for our home, and have been researching ways to go about it. We have been thinking about developing a non profit organization for young foster children with high medical needs. I would continue a PRN position at the hospital, but I want this to be my job. We are in the process of buying a 9 bd house. My family thinks we are crazy but I just feel called.

[sup3rmom2logan]

No, here you have to go through an agency as well BUT you can be licensed as a medicaid provider for home health. There are like 2 homes in our city that do tube feedings, and preemies. Our county covers over a 100 miles- it's sad. The government is coming down on Florida for the poor placements of special needs foster children. Many are in "nursing" homes with very little interaction. I remember reading an article about a 12 yr old in a long term nursing facility that had 2 visits from case worker in 6 months. We have BIG plans for our home, and have been researching ways to go about it. We have been thinking about developing a non profit organization for young foster children with high medical needs. I would continue a PRN position at the hospital, but I want this to be my job. We are in the process of buying a 9 bd house. My family thinks we are crazy but I just feel called.